Trending Brands: New Balance and Alo Yoga’s Breakout Performance in Athleisure

This excerpt from Simlarweb’s global retail brand trends report highlights two outstanding examples

The athleisure trend remains robust, with leading brands integrating athletic wear into everyday wardrobes. While the category may not be growing as fast as it once was in the wake of the Covid pandemic, some brands are still pushing the boundaries for the category as a whole and innovating to challenge the might of the biggest players.

Two athleisure brands with outstanding performance are:

• New Balance: Now one of the big three, gaining ground on both Nike and Adidas, primarily through strategic collaborations, sponsorships, and exclusive drops.
• Alo Yoga: A key player to watch in the premium activewear market alongside Lululemon, driven by growth through celebrity endorsements, social media buzz, and creating a distinct brand experience.

These findings below are excerpted from Shaping the Market 2024: The Brands Defining Retail Trends, a 50+ page Similarweb report exploring the brands that are growing at a time of consumer caution and economic uncertainty – and what those brands are doing to distinguish themselves from the competition.

In addition to covering Athleisure, the report includes chapters on K-Beauty (Korean beauty brands), Quiet Luxury, and Pet Care. For each of the trending brands, the report provides detailed digital metrics for how each of them excels – for example, conversion rate and revenue growth – and a “how they did it” analysis of the components of their success.

To identify trends, we looked at web visits and search volume for the first half of 2024, compared with the same period in 2023.

Key takeaways

• Overall, traffic to athleisure brand websites was down -3.6% year-over-year (YoY). However, the decrease was not uniform worldwide, with increases of 5.1% in the UK and 4.9% in Germany.
• New Balance grew its web traffic 32.9% in the UK, 26.7% in Germany, and 14.6% in the US, although traffic was down -25.6% in France. In all of these countries, including France, search volume for the New Balance brand was up considerably: 68.9% in the UK, 32.3% in France, 13.1% in Germany, and 10.1% in the US.
• Alo Yoga grew its web traffic by 111.0% in the UK, and 70.6% in the US, 53.0% in France, and 16.0% in Germany. Search volume for the brand rose 72.4% in France, 41.5% in the US, 32.6% in the UK, and 6.1% in Germany.

Cooling consumer demand, but with exceptions

The global -3.6% YoY decline in traffic to athleisure brand websites reflects a general shift in consumer focus as a result of continued economic struggles, with consumers now having to prioritize expenditure and choosing to spend on things like travel over fashion.

Traffic to athleisure websites from within the UK grew the most, and both of our featured brands—Alo and New Balance—saw increases in website traffic and consumer interest.

Web Visits & YoY Growth of Top 300 Athleisure DTC Sites by Country

Selected Countries, Desktop & Mobile Web, H1 2024 vs. H1 2023

Now one of the big three, gaining ground on both Nike and Adidas, primarily through strategic collaborations, sponsorships, and exclusive drops

This breakdown of search volume and YoY growth shows how New Balance and Alo Yoga set themselves apart from some of the other players in the market. Established global brands like Nike, Adidas, and Vans are all experiencing declining interest from consumers in favor of some newer ‘on-trend’ brands.

Search Volume & YoY Growth of Top 12 Global Athleisure Brands

Worldwide, Desktop & Mobile Web, H1 2024 vs. H1 2023

What sets them apart: New Balance

Originally founded in 1906 as a company producing shoe inserts, New Balance’s business evolved over time to its modern-day focus on running and sporting apparel and footwear.

Over the past few years, New Balance has gone from being seen as a ‘dad brand’ to the forefront of the athleisure market.

Here is what the digital market trend for New Balance looked like in the first half of 2024.

Web Visits and Search Volume – New Balance

Selected Countries, Desktop & Mobile Web, H1 2024 vs. H1 2023

The across-the-board increase in search volume is a strong indicator of consumer demand. Among the drivers of the increase in Europe is New Balance’s investments in the global sport of football, where Nike, Adidas, and Puma have dominated. In the full report, we also look at New Balance’s appeal to the youth market and its particularly effective choice of partners for collaborations and distribution deals. We also delve into their competitive positioning vs. Nike and Adidas.

What sets them apart: Alo Yoga

Founded in Los Angeles in 2007, Alo began with a mission to spread mindful movement and wellness through high-quality yoga apparel. Initially focused on creating performance-driven yoga wear, the brand quickly expanded its offerings to include a wide range of athleisure products, blending style and function.

In recent years, Alo has transitioned from a niche yoga brand to a leading name in the US athleisure market and expanding into European markets like the UK. While experiencing some fluctuations in certain regions, Alo’s online presence has seen consistent growth over the past three years, positioning it well ahead of where it started.

YoY Growth of Visits to aloyoga.com

Selected Countries, Desktop & Mobile Web, H2 2022 – H1 2024

Here is what Alo Yoga’s digital performance looked like in the first half of 2024.

Web Visits and Search Volume – Alo

Selected Countries, Desktop & Mobile Web, H1 2024 vs. H1 2023

Alo is winning with quality and a one-size-doesn’t-fit-all approach, appealing to many different athletes and consumers more interested in leisure relaxation. They communicate that value with a strong social media presence and influencer programs. In the full report, we also look at their strategy for celebrity engagement, a boutique in-store experience, and their appeal to affluent millennials, primarily women. As a competitive matchup, we examine how Alo Yoga compares with Lululemon.

Download the full report

The Shaping the Market 2024: The Brands Defining Retail Trends report, from which these findings are excerpted, is available for download as part of a series of reports on The State of Ecommerce 2024.

The Similarweb Insights & Communications team is available to pull additional or updated data on request for the news media (journalists are invited to write to press@similarweb.com). When citing our data, please reference Similarweb as the source and link back to the most relevant blog post or similarweb.com/blog/insights/.

Contact: For more information, please write to press@similarweb.com.

Methodology

Disclaimer: All names, brands, trademarks, and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The data, reports, and other materials provided or made available by Similarweb consist of or include estimated metrics and digital insights generated by Similarweb using its proprietary algorithms, based on information collected by Similarweb from multiple sources using its advanced data methodologies. Similarweb shall not be responsible for the accuracy of such data, reports, and materials and shall have no liability for any decision by any third party based in whole or in part on such data, reports, and materials.